Improvement in water-meters



UNITED STATES PATENT OEEICE.

GEORGE F. BLAKE, OF MEDFORD, ASSIGNOR TO HIMSELF, AND PETER HUB- BELL,OF CHARLESTOWN, MASSACHUSETTS.

IMPROVEMENT IN WATER-METERS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 34,857, dated April 1,1862.

To @ZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE F. BLAKE, of Medford, in the county ofMiddlesex and State of Massachusetts, have invented a new and usefulImprovement in Tater-Meters; and I do hereby declare the following to bea correct description of the same, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, in which- Figure l is an isometrical perspectiveview of my improved meter complete. Fig. 2 is a similarl view of thesame with theA cylinderheads and valve-chest removed. Fig. 3 is ahorizontal section through the line y y of Fig. 4. Fig. 4 is atransverse vertical section through the line ma; of Fig. 3. Figs. 5, 6,and 7 are views of the slide-valves. Fig. 8 is a side View of the shaftof the ,registering apparatus with the ratchet-Wheel attached. Fig. 9 isa bottom view of the ratchet-wheel. Fig. l0 is an end view of the pistonor plunger, and Fig. 1l a side view of the same.

The same part is marked by the same letter of reference Wherever itoccurs.

The nature of my invention consists in the improved and simplifiedconstruction of that form of water-meter wherein the reciprocations of apiston or plunger in a cylinder of known capacity are made to operate aregistering mechanism, and thus record the quantity of water passingthrough the instrument, all as hereinafter more particularly set forth.

To enable others to avail themselves of my invention, I will nowdescribe the construction and operation of the instrument, referring tothe drawings, wherein- A and B mark a pair of cylinders of knowncapacity, made of brass, iron, or other suita ble material. Their endsare closed by the heads O, which are bolted to the flan ges of thecylinders in the usual manner. On top of the cylinders A B is the valvechest D, which incloses the slide-valves and Waterways. From the top ofthe chest D rises a sleeve E, in which works the shaft of theregistering mechanism.

F marks the inlet-pipe, and G the outlet or delivery pipe.

H is the ratchet-wheel, attached to the lower end of the shaft I of theregistering mechan- 1SII1.

J, Figs. 4, 5, and 7, is the slide-valve, which operates theratchetwheel H, and K, Figs. 4 and 5, is the opposite slide-valve.

L L, tc., are the slots in which the tappets i' j k Z of theslide-valves J K work.

M M mark the valve-seats.

N is the Water way or passage leading to the delivery-pipe G.

O marks the pistons or plunger-s, which lit the cylinders A B and have areciprocating movement in them, and P the shafts of said plungers.

The ports connecting the valve-chest with the cylinders A B and theWater-way N are marked, respectively, ct b c d e f g h. The port a, Fig.3, leads from the front side of valve-seat M to the left-hand end ofcylinder B. The port b leads from the rear side of valvesseat M to theleft-hand end of cylinder A. Port c leads from the front side ofvalveseat M into the water-way N, communicating with the delivery-pipeG.,r Port d leads from the rear face of the valve-seat into the WaterwayN. Ports@ and c are controlled by the left-hand end of slide-valve K,while ports b and CZ are controlled by the left-hand end of slide-valveJ. Port e leads from the rear side ofthe valve-seat into the right-handend of the water-way N, and port f from the-front side of the valve-seatto the same end of the water-way. Port g leads from the rear side of thevalve-seat to the right-hand end of cylinder A, and port h from thefront side of the valve-seat to the right-hand end of cylinder B. Portse and g are controlled by the right-hand end of slide-valve K, the samevalve that controls ports b vand d. Ports and lt are controlled by theright-hand end of the same valve that controls ports a and c. The abovedescription of the position of the ports applies to Figs. 2 and 3.

The slide-valves are clearly represented in Figs. 5, 6, and 7. Theydiffer in form only :in the fact that valve J llas a notch m upon itwhich acts like a pawl or tooth to operate the ratchet-wheel H. Thetappets z' j k l, which project downward from the ends of the valves,pass through the inclined slots L and project into the cylinders A and Bnear their ends. The slots L are long enough to allow play to thetappets equal to the stroke of their respective valves.

The slide-valves are operated by the striking of the pistons against thetappets at the end of each stroke. Y

The instrument being in the condition represented in Fig. 2, theremaining parts are added as follows: The plungers O O are inserted inthe cylinders A and B, respectively, and the slide-valves are put inplace. 4The ratchet-wheel I-I is so fixed as to engage the tooth m ofslide-valve J when the valvechest D is put on, the shaft I being passedup through the sleeve E, inwhich it is sup- "ported and works.

0n shaft I within the limits just described;

but it is prevented from rotating on the shaftby the pin p, which isreceived into a slot in the box or sleeve of said wheel, as clearlyshown in Figs. 8 and 9.v The teeth of wheel H are on its lower face.with the tooth or notch m on slide J, and the wheel is rotated one toothat each entire stroke of that slide. The slide acts upon the wheel onlywhile. moving in one direction. While moving in the opposite directionthe tooth of thewheel slides-up on the inclined face of the tooth lm andreceives no rotary impulse. The plungers 0 and O are cylindrical inshape, as shown in Fig. 1l,and have shafts P, which project from theirends and limit the 'length of their stroke. These plungers may be whollyof metal, or of metal packed with leather.

They engagey The operation of the instrument is as follows: The Water isadmitted to the valvef chest through the inlet-pipe F and enters port a,driving plunger O to the right-hand end of cylinder B, the water infront of the plunger escaping through ports h and f into water-way N,and so out through deliverypipe G. Whenplunger O comes near the end ofits stroke, its forward edge strikes the tappet Z of slide-valve J, andso places that valve as to allow the Water to enter port g and drive theplunger O toward the lefthand end of cylinder A, the'water in thatcylinder escaping through ports b and d into water-way N and out atdelivery-pipe' G. This operation is continually repeated as long as thewater is passing through the instrument. 'lhe plungers reciprocate inopposite directions and the ports of one cylinderl are controlled by theplunger of the opposite one. At each stroke of the plungers theratchet-wheel is rotated a distance equal to that between its teeth.

Having thus fully described the construction and operation of myinvention, whatY I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,

1. Operating the registering mechanism of awater-meter by means of aratchet-wheel driven directly by the slide-valve, substantially asdescribed.

2. The tappets j la l, in combination with the slides J K, slots L, andplungers O O', arranged and operating substantially in the manner setforth.

The above specification signed and witnessed this 24th day of February,A. D. 1862.

GEORGE F. BLAKE.

Witnesses:

J E. M. GILLEY, I. H. HUBBELL.

